Jeremy Clarkson installed as shock new host of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire

RETURN: Jeremy Clarkson will host the return of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire

The Grand Tour star will present a new series of the quiz show to mark its 20th anniversary.

He will replace original presenter Chris Tarrant, who was not invited back to front the revival.

Clarkson - who was famously sacked from the BBC’s Top Gear for punching a producer – said: “I have always loved the show and am thrilled to be involved with its rebirth.”

“I have always loved the show and am thrilled to be involved with its rebirth”

Jeremy Clarkson

The new-look series will have seven episodes running nightly over one week in late spring.

TV head of entertainment Siobhan Greene said: “I can’t wait.”

Tarrant’s spokesman said the star thought Jezza would make “a first rate host”.

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HOST: The Grand Tour star will host a new series to mark its 20th anniversary

He added: “When ITV thought it was time to let the show go in 2014, Chris thought that too. “Chris feels very much that he has done all he can do with the show.”

The show was hugely popular in the late nineties and early noughties, first airing in 1998 and ending in 2013 after host Chris Tarrant, 57, stepped down from presenting duties after 15 years.

The first night of Clarkson, Hammond & May Live

The opening night of the Clarkson, Hammond & May Live tour.

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RichardÊHammond, JeremyÊClarkson and JamesÊMay live in Belfast

Arguably the most famous episode during Chris Tarrant’s reign featured Charles Ingram, who cheated his way to £1 million by having his wife Diana, and an accomplice, Tecwen Whittock, in the audience to cough when the correct answer to a question was read out, earning him the nickname ‘The Coughing Major’.